Son shine
by yvj
Summary: This short tale is about Naruto's first ever "conversation" with his son Shinachiku. (A NaruSaku one shot)


Naruto did not move when he heard Sakura stir besides him. He expected her to awaken, but she drifted back to sleep. Quietly Naruto reached under the blanket. He rested his right palm against her taut belly, feeling life stirring within. Naruto then gently rubbed Sakura's stomach in a clockwise manner. A wave of emotion rose up inside him so strong he thought it would overwhelm him. The trouble was this emotion was unfamiliar to him.

It was new.

It was a strange concoction of happiness, concern, love, fear and pride. He had never experienced this before and especially with such intensity. He was unsure on how to come to terms with it.

Pulling his hand away, Naruto shifted himself downwards until his face aligned with his wife's belly.

"Hey, you are my son" he whispered.

He paused for a moment letting his own words settle over him.

"You know girl or boy it didn't matter to me, I actually wanted it to be a surprise. But granny let it slip. She is-well-she is as happy about you as we are and when she's happy she drinks some happy juice and that takes her to strange places. It's funny she's not that different from that old perverted hermit."

Not expecting a reply for obvious reasons Naruto just lay in contemplative silence.

"You don't know what I am talking about do you? You don't know who Tsunade is or who Jiraiya was... That's a lot of history there and those two well they're a part of an even longer story. I don't know if you want to hear that story. So I'll wait until you can decide whether you want to hear it or not. Maybe I'll tell you the story on some rainy day. It's a good story, it's just a long one...you are part of the story now. Do you know that? Your story is a part of it."

Naruto glanced at Sakura to see if he had woken her up with his rambling.

No. Still asleep. Still lovely.

His turned his attention back to his son.

"Some of the characters in the story well the ones that are still around here anyway they will seem weird to you. You'll have to give them a chance to grow on you. Don't worry I'll introduce you to everyone. They're my good friends. Your dad has a lot of close friends. That wasn't always the case you know. There was a time when I had no friends at all. But that's part of that story I was talking about. That's our rainy day story..If you want. Hey guess what? Your dad has a pretty good chance to be the Hokage of The Leaf. That might not mean anything to you now but I hope it does later."

" _Am I losing it_?" Naruto mused. Was there any possible way his words could be reaching his unborn child?

"There is so much to show you and so much to explain. You can come to me for whatever, I'll answer any questions you've got. You just have to be patient with your old man because I admit I am not the smartest guy the world. I didn't really do too well in school to be honest. So I'm going to tell you right now if you got some questions about math or science you are better off going to your mom. She's the smart one. If you are lucky you'll get her brains or at least more of hers than mine."

Naruto paused listening to the blood rushing to his ears for a moment. Then he continued.

"I'm not going to lie to you there's some bad scary stuff out here. I wish...I wish I could protect you from it all but that won't be possible. And when you are out here you'll have so much to do and there are only so many hours a day...Oh right you don't even know what a day is. It's um a measurement of...right you don't what time is either-Okay we'll let mom handle that one later. Anyway, I just wanted to say it can be hard over here. But even though there is bad stuff, there is a lot more good stuff. Like ramen. Ramen is so good that...hmm I don't know if you'll feel the same way about that as I do but one day for sure we'll share a bowl okay? What else is there...Oh friendship and love. I'm not going to lie those things can get complicated but they're worth living and die for. Trust me on this one. Hey if you find a girl that can make you smile like you mom makes your dad smile bring her home we'll treat her right I promise."

Naruto closed his eyes. He swallowed and worked some saliva into his dry mouth. When he found the strength to continue he opened his eyes.

"You want to hear a secret little guy. I am scared. I know, i know dad's are not supposed to be scared. Dads should be brave and strong and badass. But you are...you are my son. And the thing about it is there are so many people here that will teach you how to fight. There are so many people out here that can teach you how to survive or how to die. But there aren't many people here to teach you how to be a good father."

Naruto felt a hand come to rest on the top of his head and then fingers curled though his hair. He looked up at his wife and saw the tenderness in her eyes.

"Everything is going to be alright. You will be a great dad I know it."

Naruto's throat felt thick, tears burned his eyes. "I'm sorry for waking you up."

"You're going to be an amazing dad."

Naruto nodded suddenly speechless.

"It's okay" Sakura said.

He turned away ashamed. He chuckled, "It...isn't, dad's aren't supposed to cry."

Naruto leaned closer to Sakura's midsection "Do you think he can hear me?"

"Of course."

"Did you hear that Shinachiku! Your mom said everything is going to be alright. Daddy is going to make sure what mommy says comes true because she's the boss"

Sakura grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled it back beneath the sheets. She placed his palm against her skin and it did not take long for Naruto to feel their son's vigorous kicks.

"See?" Sakura exclaimed. "He already knows daddy's voice."

Naruto remained motionless as a surge of love and protectiveness such as he'd never known swelled within his heart. Soon their child would be born, a child born of his love for Sakura. Soon he'd have a child to hold in his arms, a child to soothe its pain, quiet its fears, share its joy and accomplishments.

Then the reality, the truth of it came to him on a wave of excitement.

A family.

A family of his own.

It was only now that he understood how badly he wanted this.

So he wept, because he was so full of love for Sakura and their son that it was painful. Sakura continued to caress her husband's head as he succumbed to the moment. She whispered to him soothing words of comfort.

When he regained his composure Naruto took her hand in his and placed it against his lips.

"Thank you Sakura...for everything."

He placed his free hand back on Sakura's belly.

"Hey, I'm your dad!"

The little kicks continued. Naruto grinned at his son's boy wanted to break out and make his mark on the world.

But as he placed his face against Sakura's stomach he heard it growl. Startled Naruto pulled his head back and turned to his red-faced wife.

"Sakura-Chan are you telling me to get you some breakfast?" Naruto teased.

"I could eat" Sakura shrugged.

The Uzumaki family exchanged laughter as the first rays of the sun brightened their bedroom.

* * *

Thanks for reading

If you like the story let me know


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